Living My Life

02 Feb 2009

Every now and again the blogging bug bites me. It has apparently done that recently as I feel the need to blog with all of my spare time. Apparently this has been enjoyable to the people that read my blog, which makes me glad, and I have also been enjoying it.

Since I recently finished the Seven Things Meme I have been thinking about the interesting things I have done in my life. I have spent a lot of time in my life, not recently, wishing I had a “better” life. Most of this stems from little brother jealousy of an older brother.

See, unlike Harper I didn’t know what I wanted to do after high school. Harper went off to his fancy schmancy school and got his degree in computer science and then went off to be successful. That is probably what I used to wish for “success”.

While Harper was doing all of this I was living it up in high school. I was popular, I had lots of friends and I was doing my best to flunk out of school. Luckily there was a teacher, Mrs. Switzer, who cared. She took me aside and said in a way that only teachers can “Dylan, you are not going to graduate if you don’t pass this class.” She then forced me to do the work, making me come in on lunch times and the like to get the work done.

During this same time the clowning bug had bitten me. I was becoming an entertainment sponge. I had learned to juggle, unicycle, stilt walk, make balloon animals and just about any other non-rigging circus skill. This led me to think that I needed to run off and join the circus. I sent my resume off to Ringling Bros, Barnum and Bailey Circus. About six weeks later I received a call from Tim Holst, director of acts. He told me to put together a video of what I can do and send it to him.

With my families help I put together the crappiest video that they had probably ever seen. I was eighteen at the time, what did I know about audition videos. I didn’t hear another word from them and while that probably killed the circus clown dream I continued to pursue entertaining as a money making venture.